


I've Got You - One-shot

by raccodactyl



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Physical hurt/comfort, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 08:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17846018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raccodactyl/pseuds/raccodactyl
Summary: Request: Can you do an Arthur x male reader fic about the reader being beaten up in town by Micah and 2 other homophobes and Arthur finding out and comforting the reader?Summary: Pretty much that





	I've Got You - One-shot

**Author's Note:**

> I've been super bad at posting on AO3 sorry but I'm super active on tumblr if you'd like to see more of my work. go check out [my blog](https://distantcowboynoises.tumblr.com/post/182234812095/master-list) for more content and updates.

You were just trying to take a piss in the back of the Valentine saloon when you heard Micah and his boys approaching you. You did up your fly and tried to walk away before you felt a heavy hand on your shoulder, “Where you goin’ there, pretty boy?”

 

“The hell you want, Micah?”

 

“Seems pretty boy’s gif a mouth on him, huh fellas,” he chuckled darkly, his lackeys only following along.

 

“Is there a point to you stopping me or will you allow me to get on my way,” you retorted, not in the mood for his shit.

 

“You know, friend, there was a point to this little chat,” he said back in his usual sarcastic, arrogant tone. 

 

“And what might that be?”

 

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll much like it. But if you are so curious,” a dark smile came across his face. “Little birdie told me that you like to mess around with other boys. That true?”

 

“Does it matter?”

 

“I think it does.”

 

“Well, that ain’t your business, Micah. Now fuck off,” you snapped. 

 

“Ooh, boys, did you hear that,” he cackled, “Pretty boy is going off again. I will give you one more chance to answer politely.”

 

You shook your head and turned around, just wanting to head back inside but when you did, heavy hands pushed at your back and you soon found your face in the dirt. Quickly you got up, anger tearing through your body. You left a hard punch on Micah’s jaw. He barely flinched, rubbing gently on the spot but the dark smile soon returned to his face. 

 

“That was cute.”

 

Before you could make another move, he punched back, and again, and again. You moved your hands to defend yourself but one of his boys caught your arms, holding you still while Micah continued to throw blow after blow to your torso. 

 

You let out a cry of pain when you felt a particularly hard hit against your rib cage which made him laugh, “Not so tough, are you now? God damn faggot.”

 

The man behind you dropped you now, leaving you on the ground, you turned over to your side, trying to protect yourself as much as possible but Micah and his boys kicked at you, calling you disgusting names as they did.

 

“Get the hell off o’ him,” an unfamiliar voice called out. 

 

With that, the men laid off of you. Micah spat at you before scurrying off with the other two cowards. You took a moment before sitting up, looking over to see a lawman approaching you. He stuck his hand out, helping you up, “You gonna be okay, son?”

 

“I’ll be fine,” you said as you rubbed at your sore jaw. “Thank you, sir.”

 

“I’ll be on my way then. Take care of yourself, buddy.”

 

The officer walked away and you rubbed at your shoulder, trying to get yourself together. You walked towards the street, limping slightly as almost every part of your body was aching. You walked towards the apothecary, hoping to get yourself something to take the edge off. You were about to get onto the steps when you heard someone call out your name. 

 

You turned around to see Arthur hopping off his horse and walking towards you, “The hell happened to you,” he asked, his tone gentle.

 

“I’ll tell you later, just help me get something,” you said, your voice cracking as the pain only seemed to be getting worse.

 

“Come on, then,” he said before putting your arm around his shoulders and bringing you into the store. 

 

He talked to the clerk for you and paid for the drugs before returning to you, “You didn’t have you do that.”

 

“Don’t matter, I wanted to,” he said before helping you back outside. “You bring a horse?”

 

“No, she needed to rest. Charles gave me a ride out here.”

 

“Ride on the back of mine then. We gotta get you cleaned up.”

 

Before you could protest, he was saddled up and offering you a hand. You looked at him with a questioning glance and he shot you one back, pushing his hand out further for emphasis. You took it, grabbing his forearm and his yours to boost yourself onto the back of his horse. You landed hard and pain shot through you again and you let out a little groan. 

 

“Don’t want any more lip from you until you can get on a horse without moanin’, not let me just get you patched up.” 

 

“Fine, fine,” you said as you took a gentle hold on him.

 

He rode easy until he found a quiet spot to break off. He rode into the trees a bit before finding a little opening and helping you off the horse. He helped you settle down, leading your back against a tree. He kneeled to you and dug in his satchel for the purchased pain-killers. You took a little shot of whatever it was he gave you and sat back, 

 

“This is gonna sting a bit,” he said as he soaked a gauze pad in some alcohol. He pressed the pad to your busted lip and sure enough, it stung like a bitch. 

 

“Shit,” you let out in pain. 

 

He let out a light-hearted chuckle, “Told you.”

 

He swiped the gauze over the small cut on your forehead and it hurt too, you taking hold of his wrist before relaxing back into the tree. He continued to clean up the visible wounds and you let your eyes fall closed. It took a lot out of you and the words may have stung more than the punches. You were drained and as much as you wanted to fight it, it felt pretty good to be taken care of in this way. 

 

“So how’d this happen exactly,” he said as he took out another clean rag to tape onto your forehead. 

 

You let out a sigh, “Was out in the back of the saloon and Micah came after me. He and his boys took issue with me and before I could get out of it, he was wailing on me.”

 

“He give you a reason,” he asked, genuine concern in his voice. 

 

“You promise you won’t spread this to anyone,” you asked back.

 

“You’ve got my word,” he said as he sat back for a moment, looking over your face to make sure you were properly cleaned. 

 

“He took issue with my, uh, preferences, to put it lightly,” you said back, a bit worried about his reaction. You and Arthur were real close, but this was something you never brought up. 

 

“That bastard,” he grumbled, his tone shifting to anger, “I swear if he ever lays another hand on you I will crush his skull myself.”

 

“Isn’t that a dream.”

 

You moved to sit up a bit further but the way you were bent made you let out another yelp at your tender ribs. He jumped, “What is it?”

 

“Damn ribs,” you said through the pain.

 

He let out another aggravated sigh, “God damn Micah.” he shook his head, “Lay down.”

 

You did as you were told, resting your head back on the ground and keeping your arms on your stomach. His hands moved to your shirt collar but he stopped himself, “Is this okay? I just want to check you is all.”

 

You nodded, “Go on.”

 

He began to slowly unbutton your shirt. He gently moved your arms to your sides before tugging the bottom out of your pants and splitting the two parts open, your bare chest now exposed to him. 

 

“Yeah, you’re already bruisin’ here,” he said, pressing the pads of his fingers gently to your sore skin. 

 

You grimaced, “Yeah, he got me pretty good.”

 

He traced the outline of the forming bruises lightly, “He’s got no right treating you like that. Folks like him make me sick.”

 

You bit your already-swelling lip as you wanted to hold back tears. The things Micah said shouldn’t have gotten to you in this way but they did.

 

“I don’t want to repeat the things he said to me,” you said, trying to keep your voice stable but it cracked quite obviously.  “It all just hurts, Arthur.”

 

“Come ‘ere,” he said before pulling you up lightly and into his arms. 

 

You were half on his lap when he held you close to him. You wanted to resist his touch but after a moment, you couldn’t help but melt into it. You buried your head into his neck and held onto his shirt with white knuckles. You felt his legs shift under you, sitting cross-legged and moving you to sit in the spot in the middle. He rocked side-to-side, whispering little assurances as you silently sobbed into his shoulder. You had never felt more weak, but you had never felt more safe, either. 

 

“A-Arthur, I-” you choked out.

 

“Shh, darlin’, I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he shushed, his tone low and warm. 

 

He pressed his mouth just lightly to the top of your head, lips lingering a little longer than maybe was acceptable. Your breathing began to even out as you calmed down, your face still buried in the crook of his neck. 

 

After a good while, he pulled away, “I’ll be right back.”

 

You nodded and pushed yourself off of him. He went to his horse and gathered his blanket. 

He returned, taking your previous spot and leaning back against the tree. You took his cues and crawled over, laying down and letting your head rest in his lap. He tossed out the blanket, letting it lay over your body. 

 

“You need to rest, doll,” he whispered, gently pushing your hair back. “Get some sleep.”

 

You looked up at him, a light smile coming over your face, “Thank you.”

 

“No need,” he smiled back, “Now settle down.”

 

You let your eyes fall closed, turning yourself slightly to face him. He let out a little chuckle before continuing to run his hands through your hair. He tipped his hat to cover his eyes and you could tell he’d be asleep soon, as well. You rested easy as you stayed with him, and maybe it was the worst of events to lead you here, but you knew this was right. 


End file.
